Blair vows expansion of good schools

Popular schools will be allowed to expand in size so more parents can win places for their children, Tony Blair pledged today.

Extra funding and new rules will be announced this month to allow successful headteachers to double their capacity and give more pupils a quality education.

The new policy will be welcomed in London where parents have the least choice.

Whitehall studies have proved that only 59 per cent of children in the capital get into their first choice school, compared with 85 per cent nationally.

Mr Blair revealed the "big idea" which will be part of a five-year blueprint for education during his monthly press conference at Downing Street. When a questioner said most parents felt they had no choice because the good schools were oversubscribed, the Prime Minister nodded his agreement.

"It is precisely for that reason - but you will have to wait until we publish our schools proposals - that we want to make it easier for successful schools to expand and be part of our system. We think that is an important part of opening up the system."

He promised to "change monolithic services" including schools to make them more responsive to families' needs. "In schools that means freeing the system up, allowing greater innovation, greater diversity and allowing successful schools to expand where they wish to do so."

The Prime Minister used his press conference to relaunch Labour's campaign with a focus on domestic issues to reassure voters and move on from the Iraq crisis.

He promised a "change of gear" but no U-turns when new five-year plans begin rolling out next week with a blueprint for NHS reforms. "Now is not the time for a change of direction, but it is the time for a change of gear," he said.

Mr Blair said New Labour was all about reforms to make public bodies work better. "Those are absolutely traditional Labour aims."

Dismissing calls for a shift to the Left, he said a "coalition" of aspirant working-class people and midd le classes expected the Government to be radical. "That's the coalition that brought us to power and we must keep it intact."

On Iraq, Mr Blair insisted military action was right and would be vindicated by history. "In positions of leadership you have to take what you believe to be the right decision."